Patients with more than one disease face myriad battles: Not only do their own bodies have to fight multiple ailments, but their health care providers need to go outside their respective fields to coordinate successful care.

Thanks to a $3.5 million federal grant, School of Medicine and Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing faculty have taken a strong first step to address the latter issue.

In collaboration with colleagues at Duke University, medicine’s Chris Longenecker and nursing’s Allison Webel are examining interventions to assist patients with HIV and who are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease.

Specifically, they’re looking at how providers think about cardiovascular risk, as well as the impact of a nurse- led intervention to help people living with HIV reach cholesterol and blood pressure goals.

HIV care has a strong history of health care professionals from different disciplines joining forces, Webel said. While physicians’ core focus may be on the disease, she explained, nurses try to understand the full context surrounding a patient’s health.

“And,” she added, “that legacy of interdisciplinary work has been incredibly successful.”